This application is related to US Patent application entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH REAR GROUND PLATExe2x80x9d, Ser. No. 10/279,807, which is contemporaneously filed, and assigned to the common assignee.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly, to a multi-port modular jack mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modular jacks in high speed application usually use filters such as three-terminal capacitors, common mode choke coils or inductors to suppress noises. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,204 issued to Sakamoto et al. on May 14, 1991 teaches use of a common-mode choke arranged in a connector housing around which the contact leads of an RJ-45 modular jack connector are integrally wound. In Sakamoto design, the voluminous common-mode choke takes up a substantial portion of the connector housing, although only two signal-conducting leads are used. Furthermore, the respective leads need a certain rigidity to provide resilient forces to continuously facilitate a secure contact with an associated modular plug connector. However, this creates difficult manufacturing conditions, especially when the rigid wires, consisting of phosphor bronze, have to be wound around the conductive core of the choke coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,641 issued to Sakamoto et al. on Dec. 3, 1991 avoids such difficulties by the use of a printed circuit board to receive the common-mode choke coils or to receive electronic chip inductances. The printed circuit board not only requires its own space, but also need several additional production steps in order to connect it to the components and the leads thereof. Moreover, in high speed applications, more functional components and novelty circuitry design are usually needed for better electrical performance, which also enlarge the electronic appliance and complicated the assemble process.
Any improvement on how to make the modular jack compact and easy to assemble is welcome.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a compact electrical connector with a power module.
An electrical connector for mounted on a main printed circuit board (PCB) includes an insulative housing defining a plurality of cavities, a plurality of contacts received in the housing and extending into the cavities, and a shield member substantially surrounding the housing. An internal PCB, a first and a second magnetic modules, and an electronic component are received in a rear opening of the housing. A plurality of conductors electrically connect with the internal PCB with the magnetic modules and the electronic component. An internal ground plate electrically engages with the internal PCB and mechanically engages with the first and the second magnetic modules and the electronic component.